1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of handheld solid animal medicine administrator to enable an owner of a pet such as a dog or cat to hold the animal with one hand and cause one or more pills to be inserted into the animal's mouth in a manner where a front portion of the administrator travels past the animal's tongue so that the animal will have to swallow the pills and not spit them out.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, devices to administer a pill to an animal are known in the prior art. The following six (6) patents are the closest prior art known to the inventor.
1. U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,083 issued to Hanson on Nov. 29, 1977 for “PILL GUN” which discloses a handheld pill gun for administering medicinal pills and capsules including a plastic barrel and plunger, and rigid broad surface manipulating bars on the barrel and spaced apart to bear firmly against the front and rear surfaces of the person's fingers.
2. U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,004 issued to Liang on Nov. 26, 1996 for “FEED DRUG INJECTOR” which discloses a feed drug injector comprising a nipple device, a nipple plug inserted in the nipple device, a front end of a cylinder inserted in the nipple plug, and a push rod inserted in the cylinder. The nipple device has a base and a nipple head. Two inner recesses are formed on the inner periphery of the base. A passage is formed in the nipple head. A Y-shaped hole is formed in the front of the passage. A bevel is formed on the front surface of the nipple head. Three apertures which are formed on the bevel and two front sides of the nipple head communicate with the Y-shaped hole. The nipple plug has a disk with an inner thread, a Y-shaped bar, and three circular holes formed on the disk. Two protrusions are disposed on the outer periphery of the disk. The protrusion engages with the inner recess.
3. U.S. Pat. No. 5,681,279 issued to Roper et al. on Oct. 28, 1997 for “PILL DISPENSING SYRINGE” which discloses a pill dispensing syringe comprising a cylindrical outer housing, a water injection cylinder slidably mounted within the interior bore of the outer housing, a piston slidably mounted within the interior bore of the water injection cylinder, a piston rod fixedly attached to the piston and extending therefrom through the interior bores of the water injection cylinder and the outer housing, a cylindrical pill dispensing sleeve fixedly attached to the opposing end of the outer housing, the opposing end of the pill dispensing sleeve being adapted for holding a pill, and a cylindrical water injection tube slidably mounted within the interior bore of the pill dispensing sleeve, and end of the water injection tube being fixedly attached to the water injection cylinder.
4. U.S. Pat. No. 6,960,183 issued to Nicolette on Nov. 1, 2005 for “VETERINARY PILL AND CAPSULE DELIVERY DEVICE” which discloses a veterinary pill/capsule delivery device comprised of a dispensing head for holding a pill the or capsule, the dispensing head being attached to the end of a syringe component for ejecting the pill or capsule out from the dispensing head into the animal's mouth while at the same time injecting a quantity of water into the mouth. The syringe component includes a push-rod that protrudes into the dispensing head for ejecting the pill/capsule therefrom, plus water release holes near the dispensing head for simultaneously jetting water out of the syringe component into the animal's mouth, thereby compelling the animal to swallow the pill.
5. U.S. Pat. No. 7,744,558 issued to Maag on Jun. 29, 2010 for “PILL PLUNGER” which discloses a pill plunger including a hollow tube having a forward end and a rearward end. A rod or plunger has a forward end having a dished out portion for receiving medication and a rearward end having a button. The plunger occupies the tube with the dished out portion at the forward end of the tube and the button extending from the rearward end of the tube. medication is placed in the dished out portion, when is then retracted into the tube. After insertion of the tube into a patient's mouth, the button is depressed to extend the plunger and dispense the medication. A spring can be used to retract the plunger upon release of the button. The dished out portion can be sealed to carry a fluid or powder. A dual dished out portion can be provided in the rod, and a window can be formed in the hollow tube.
6. U.S. Pat. No. 8,062,248 issued to Kindel on Nov. 22, 2011 which discloses a pill dispenser including a housing having front, rear and side walls defining a hollow interior. A pill holding member is removably coupled to the housing front wall and defines a frontward bore configured to receive a pill and being in operative communication with the housing front opening. An elongate plunger shaft having proximal and distal ends is positioned and extends through the housing. The shaft is movable between a retracted configuration in which the distal end extends from the housing rear wall and an actuated configuration in which the distal end is adjacent the housing rear wall. A spring is positioned in the dispenser housing and operatively connected to the plunger shaft for selectively moving the plunger shaft between the retracted and actuated configurations so as to eject a pill from the holding member. The shaft may be retracted to selected positions before being spring actuated to dispense a pill.
There is a significant need for an improved animal solid animal medicine administrator that can safely administer more than one pill or capsule.